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A recent study published in Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy indicates that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group intervention may be helpful for women with low self-esteem, and co-morbid depression and anxiety. In the current study, researchers used a set of CBT-based self-help workbooks, Overcoming Low Self-Esteem Self-Help Course (Fennell, 2006), to implement group therapy in a recruited sample of 37 women with low self-esteem (as indicated by the Robson Self Concept Questionnaire (RSCQ)). The group met once per week for two hours, for a total of eight sessions. Final results revealed clinically significant improvements in self-esteem and mood, including decreased depression and anxiety scores at post-intervention. While the mechanism for change is not yet clear, the researchers hypothesize that the group experience, combined with their learning adaptive skills and gaining new perspectives via CBT treatment, enhanced participants’ overall feelings of acceptance and increased confidence, both of which contribute to healthy self-esteem.

In this study, researchers tested the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral program for nursing students’ career attitude maturity, decision making style, and self-esteem. The participants were 40 nursing students, 20 of whom were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and 20 of whom were randomly assigned to a control group. The students in the experimental group received 8 hour-long sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) over 8 weeks. Data indicated that the experimental group’s mean score for career attitude maturity and self-esteem increased greatly as compared to the control group. This comparison was especially stark in the areas of confidence and independence. Based on their results, the researchers recommend that CBT group counseling programs on career maturity be implemented for nursing students.